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Thursday, October 3, 2013

Vatican
City, 3 October 2013 (VIS) – Archbishop Dominique Mamberti,
secretary for the Holy See's Relations with States, spoke during the
general debate of the 68th session of the United Nations General
Assembly, held in New York on 1 October. Archbishop Mamberti
expressed his wish that the session of the General Assembly be
inspired by the same spirit of universal solidarity that animated the
day of prayer for peace convoked by Pope Francis on 7 September, “so
that all nations take decisive steps towards the resolution of open
conflicts and to heal the wounds of humanity”.

Focusing
on the establishment of new and appropriate objectives for 2015, the
archbishop commented, with reference to G20, “if we wish to
guarantee the future achievement of common objectives for development
after 2015, it is urgent to draw up international judicial mechanisms
enabling the participation of all States in the conception and
implementation of major joint economic decisions”. Similarly,
Mamberti referred to the Pope's recent letter to the G20 leaders, who
met in St. Petersburg in September, in which he emphasised the
responsibility of the international community with regard to Syria,
and appealed to leaders to “find ways to overcome the various
oppositions and to abandon any vain pretext for a military solution”.

Archbishop
Mamberti commented that the tragedy in Syria constituted a challenge
and an opportunity for the United Nations to give new vigour to its
organs, mechanisms and procedures in a concerted, creative and
positive way. “A peaceful and lasting solution to the Syrian
conflict would set a significant precedent for this century, paving
the way to facing other conflicts that the international community
has not yet managed to resolve, would greatly facilitate the
inclusion of the principle of 'responsibility to protect' in the
United Nations Charter, and from the more general perspective of
economic and social development, would be the clearest and most
evident manifestation of the wish to embark, with honesty and
efficacy, on a path of sustainable development after 2015”.